On 6 -7 October 2023, Ambassador Tanee Sangrat and Miss Somjai Taphaopong, Consul-General in New York, visited a group of over 30 Thai students studying at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They also paid a visit and paid respect to Thai Buddhist monks and the Thai community at Wat Mongkoltepmunee in Pennsylvania.

Ambassador Tanee highlighted recent accomplishments of the Embassy, including 1) The establishment of the U.S.-Thai Alliance Caucus in the US House of Representatives to promote Thai-U.S. mutual interests, 2) the successful Sawasdee DC Thai festival on 2 July 2023, with over 30,000 participants, a collaborative efforts of the Thai community and volunteers from across the U.S., which is intended to be an annual event, 3) the establishment of the Thai Restaurant Association of America (TRAA) to address issues and strengthen the Thai food business community, and 4) Thailand being selected as the host of the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF in 2027.

Ambassador Tanee also mentioned the Embassy’s ongoing mission, such as the Prime Minister’s official visit to the U.S., the support for the work of young generations such as Samakkee Summit, Association of Thai Students in USA (ATSA) and Thai Creative Student Collective (TCSC) as well as activities aimed at promoting strengths and interests of of the Thai American community in the U.S. These include the visit of the first and second generations of Thai American physicians in the U.S. to Thailand to share experience and medical know how and foster collaboration with Thai universities, and sports events to promote community relations, and regular meetings of Thai business community in the U.S.

Ambassador Tanee and Consul-General Somjai also exchanged views and answered questions from students on various topics, including consular matters, efforts to promote Thailand's soft power, support for SMEs and start-ups, and network-building with international communities, as well as selecting college majors for Thai students.